CCI exonerates Ola and rival Uber in complaint filed by Meru Cabs

There’s some cheer for taxi-hailing app company Ola, which faced the Delhi government’s ire for surge pricing in the capital under chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s odd-andeven plan.

Ola has got a clean chit from the Director General Investigations of the Competition Commission of India in a case alleging anti-competitive practices. The competition watchdog will now take a final decision based on the report.

The CCI had already exonerated the company and rival Uber in a complaint filed by Meru Cabs for anticompetitive practices in the capital. Chennai-based Fast Track Call Cab Pvt had filed a case against Ola, operated by ANI Technologies Pvt., in the CCI alleging predatory pricing and abuse of dominant position, covered by Section 4 of the Competition Act.

The CCI then asked the DG Investigations to probe the matter and submit its report. Sources privy to the development said the DG Investigations did not find the company guilty because there is enough competition with the presence of companies such as Uber.

“Abuse of dominant position can take place only if the company enjoys dominant position,” said the person privy to the development. If a company is pronounced guilty of abuse of dominance, the regulator can slap a penalty of up to 10% of its threeyear annual average turnover. The competition watchdog will now take a call on the issue and the fact that the report has not found any case of abuse of dominance may help Ola.

The CCI had previously rejected separate complaints filed by Mega Cabs and Meru alleging predatory pricing by Ola and Uber. Radio cab companies in the country have said the entry of taxi-hailing service apps has led to a sharp reduction in fares. They contend that these companies offer hefty discounts to customers and incentives to drivers to expand their business, hurting theirs in the process.